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Chester City creates another plan to revitalize its waterfront after decades of financial stress

Economically depressed Chester City has approved yet another plan to revitalize its waterfront — an ambitious rework that could take as long as 15 years.

“Chester is a tight-knit community full of character and heart,” Tom Shoemaker, president of the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County (RADC), the group heading the master plan, said in a statement this week. “This plan outlines the strategy to safely connect the riverfront to the city and provide new opportunities for growth and development.”

The plan, based on input from city officials, businesses and residents, aims to improve how people get to Chester and navigate the city by allowing greater access to cyclists, pedestrians, and public transit.

Eventually, the RADC said, it expects to construct a marina, park, and multifamily residential building by the waterfront, and create a public art program. No projected costs were disclosed.

The master plan is to be executed in phases, officials said, with the first focusing on “public investment” to “encourage private investment in the next five years."

In total, the project is expected to affect about 100 acres, from Highland Avenue to Norris Street in the city’s West End. It will span part of Route 291 and Reaney and Engle Streets, both of which are close to 291, a highly traveled thoroughfare in Chester. The area is close to Chester’s I-95 exit, and SEPTA has a station nearby.

Read more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate...-20200926.html